Legislation entitled Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014, which became effective July 1, 2015 requires employers to provide paid sick leave benefits to their employees.

Program Requirements
Employers must provide up to three days or 24 hours of paid sick leave to employees for use if the employee:

Is ill;
Must tend to an ill child, spouse/registered domestic partner, parent/guardian, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling; or
Has a medical appointment for themselves or their family members

It may also be used by victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking to obtain legal assistance, counseling, shelter, or other services.

The mandate applies to part-time as well as to full-time employees and to all employees, regardless of whether they are paid a set wage, hourly, by commission, or on a piece-rate basis. The only employees not included in the mandate are in-home supportive service workers, employees covered by certain collective bargaining agreements, and certain airline employees.

Under the original act, an employee accrued benefits at the rate of one hour per every 30 hours worked. Now, employers may use a different accrual method, as long as the accrual is on a regular basis so that an employee has no less than 24 hours of accrued sick leave or paid time off by the 120th calendar day of employment or each calendar year or 12-month period.

Alternatively, an employer may provide the benefits up front at the beginning of a 12-month period (calendar year or other designated 12-month basis).

Employees may use the benefits once they have worked at least 90 days. Seasonal and temporary employees are covered as long as they work for the employer for 90 days, whether consecutive or not. Benefits may be used in hourly increments, although the employer may require that an employee take a minimum of two hours.

Employers who have a paid time off (PTO) program or that already provide at least three days of sick day benefits may not have to change their policies as long as their current plan meets the accrual requirements and sick days are available after 90 days of employment. Additionally, the employer will have to meet the record keeping and notice requirements outlined below.

Unused sick days must be carried over (although the carryover can be capped at six days), but an employer is not required to pay more than three sick days per calendar year. By carrying unused sick days over, employees can use sick days at the beginning of the year.

Actions Required
To comply with the new mandate, employers must:

Display a poster on paid sick leave where employees can read it easily;
Provide written notice to employees with sick leave rights at the time of hire;
Allow eligible employees to use accrued paid sick leave upon reasonable request, although an employer can limit the available paid sick leave benefits to three days;
Pay the benefit no later than the payday for the next regular payroll period after the sick leave was taken;
Show how many days of sick leave an employee has available on an employee's pay stub or a document issued the same day as a paycheck; and
Keep records showing how many hours have been earned and used for three years.

Penalties
Although the law does not allow an employee to sue directly for violations of the Act, the California Labor Commission may impose penalties. These include a penalty equal to three (3) times the amount of paid sick pay withheld and additional administrative penalties varying from $50 to $4,000 per violation per employee, depending on the nature of the violation.

Additional information and resources are available on the State of California website under the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement at: http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/